How You Can Help Conserve Water

If you’re like most families, you can reduce your water use by 35 percent just by following these simple steps.

Bathroom tips:

Check for leaks in your toilet tank with a few drops of food coloring or leak identification tablets. If the coloring appears within 30 minutes without flushing, you have a leak that may waste up to 52,800 gallons a year. Fixing a leak can be as simple as tightening loose connections, wrapping joints with Teflon-Tape before reconnecting, or replacing the parts inside the toilet tank.

Save five gallons per flush by replacing a toilet made before 1992 with a newer ultra-low-flush model.

Fix any leaky faucets. One drop per second can add up to 165 gallons a month!

Flush toilets less often. Never use your toilet as a trash can.

Place plastic bottles filled with water in your toilet tank or use an inexpensive toilet dam to block part of the toilet tank. This can save 11 gallons of water per day. Avoid bricks that can damage the tank.

Install water-saving shower heads. They use 25-50 percent less water without sacrificing water pressure. Take shorter showers to maximize water and energy savings.

Install low-flow faucet aerators, which use between 20-25 percent less water than a normal faucet.

Other indoor tips:

Consider replacing your dishwasher and washing machine with newer, more efficient models. Choose products with the ENERGY STAR® label to save over 50 percent in water and energy costs.

Run the dishwasher or washing machine only when full. For the most savings on water and energy, use appliances after 8 p.m.

Defrost food in the refrigerator instead of using running water. Faucets release about a gallon of water every minute.

When hand-washing dishes, use a dishpan or a stopper in the sink.

Instead of running the faucet to get cold water, keep a pitcher in the refrigerator.

Outdoor tips:

Water your lawn and garden in the morning or after dark. You’ll use 30 percent less water than you would if you watered in the middle of the day when evaporation is higher. Do not water your lawn when it’s windy.

Use trickle or drip irrigation systems for watering yards and gardens. A lawn or garden needs only one inch of water weekly to thrive (including rainfall). Thorough watering once weekly encourages deep-root growth.

Set sprinklers to water your lawn or garden only—not the street or sidewalk.

Water trees and shrubs longer and less often than plants with shallow roots. Control the flow of water from your hose with an adjustable nozzle.

Wash your car on your lawn and use water from a bucket with non-toxic soaps, or go to a commercial car wash that recycles water. (Most do.) Recycling water keeps soap and cleaners from contaminating groundwater and from draining into streams, rivers, and reservoirs.

Sweep driveways, sidewalks, and steps instead of hosing them off.

Spread mulch around garden plants and shrubs to reduce evaporation and weed growth.

Remove thatch and aerate turf to promote air and water circulation.

Use native grasses, shrubs, and trees in landscaping. Native plants require less water, reduce runoff and flooding, help prevent soil erosion, and are easier to grow because they are adapted to local conditions. (See TVA’s Native Plant Selector for details on more than 140 plants native to the Tennessee Valley, and read about shoreline landscaping with native plants.)